COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONA superb example of an American Pale Ale. The Cascade hop flavor just explodes in your mouth. Combined with the clean malt character and smooth finish, you are left utterly wanting another when your glass is empty.

If you’ve ever seen a growing snake firecracker then essentially, you’ve seen what this beer’s head can do. having poured roughly 1/2 of the 22oz bottle into a pint the head began to grow, and grow, and grow until it began to slowly recede, leaving behind amazing, tight-knit lacing. Strong aroma of yeast, citrus and apricot... taste on the other hand has notes of grapefruit, apple and Zinc. While this beer has an awesome scent and a pretty good taste, I was not as psyched as I had expected to be when pouring and sniffing. The carbonation overpowers the mouthfeel... almost difficult to get a sense of this beer as it doesn’t sit on the tongue very long... rather, dances around not leaving much of a footprint. Overall enjoyable but wish it would settle a little more, perhaps at a warmer temp it would settle on the tongue but overall I am just not a big fan of big carbonation.

I barely poured half of the 22oz bottle into my snifter before the foam had built itself up to such magnificent proportions, I didn’t even want to add any more liquid for fear of the head overflowing. The thick, fluffy, easily 4 finger thick creamy head of nice, big bubbles sat upon a lovely, lightly hazy, golden-orange liquid. It stuck around until the very end with great retention and left behind thick sticky sheets of lacing - everything about this brew is just as Sonoran as the others. They are nothing if not consistent! ---
I love watching the head continue to build upon itself in layers, only to fall slowly back down to a thin layer just on the top of the beer. It makes the whole drinking and reviewing process that much more satisfying. Sonoran brews are probably my favorite to drink thus far, and I am really eager to try the rest of their flavors and styles. The Burning Bird carried early wafts of a bright citrus that closely resembled grapefruit, a little bit of pine, and a very light malty sweetness that hid behind a delicately bitter blanket of refreshing hops. It was so summery in smell alone, I couldn’t wait to taste it and quickly dove in. ---
I was not disappointed. Sure enough, I was definitely given what I paid for, and much more. The beer tasted just like it smelled, only with a bit more of a kick. There was the citrusy grapefruit right at the front of my tongue, but I found that as I sipped along, the grapefruit was pushed to the back of my tongue by some very light sweet malts and accompanied by a slight bitterness, probably due to the hops. The best part about the strength of the flavors, was that although they were more robust than the scent, the whole drink itself leaned more on the mellow side with a medium to light body and a very fine carbonation. ---
Burning Bird starts off with a zesty beginning and smoothly melts into a dryer, bitter ending. I’m becoming a huge fan of bitter lately, which is not something I expected to happen throughout all of this tasting and writing. It is so easy to drink, I doubt I would have any problem (gracefully) sucking down two or three bottles on a hot summer evening here in Arizona.

22oz bottle. Hazy orange-brown color. Massive foamy head. Resiny orange hop aroma, quite nice. Lemony, and a little thin bodied for the style. Fresh and zesty, but that’s all it really has going on. The malt profile is too thin to really accommodate or balance the hops. Grassy mouthfeel. A pretty awkward West Coast version of the style.

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